There has been a lot of striking back around the Red Sox organization lately, and, weirdly, most of it seems to be going on outside the clubhouse rather than in it. As the home opener (and Fenway Park 100th anniversary celebration) rapidly approach, the management of the team seems to be in greater turmoil than ever.

Just Give Bobby V and Curt Schilling a Goddamn Sitcom Already: Is anyone else as sick of this Bobby V vs. Curt Schilling feud as I am? Talk about tiresome. Bobby V was on WEEI this morning to talk about the team, and essentially refused to answer any questions about Curt Schilling. After a few ten second pauses, some “you tell mes,” and a blunt “next question,” it became pretty clear that Bobby V has absolutely no idea how to deal with media.

Curt Schilling doesn’t like Bobby V. Bobby V doesn’t like Curt Schilling. WE GET IT. You know what? Schilling is probably right. The Red Sox probably don’t really like Bobby Valentine. How do I know that? Because I don’t even like Bobby Valentine, and I don’t have to see him every day. But Bobby V is right, too: Curt Schilling should shut up. Schilling is opening his mouth because he thinks Bobby V is hurting the team, which begs the question: does Schilling really think that undermining the manager, whoever he may be, is helping the team?

Still, Bobby V needs to learn how to deal with the media. I can’t believe I’m saying this about a man who has experience managing in the New York media market, but he clearly has no idea how to deal with controversy. And he sure isn’t going to get the fans behind the team by being coy.

Next question!

Terry Francona Gives the Red Sox the Finger and I Don’t Blame Him One Bit: The celebration for the 100th anniversary of Fenway Park will be held before next Friday’s game against the Yankees, and Terry Francona, the man who managed the Red Sox to two World Series championships, has declined to be a part of the festivities. Said Terry:

“Somebody went out of their way to make me look pretty bad. It’s a shame. I’m sure they’ll have a great event and I was part of a lot of that stuff there, but I just can’t go back there and start hugging people and stuff without feeling a little bit hypocritical.”

And he’s 100% right. We still don’t know who the mole in the Red Sox clubhouse was, or even whether it was a player or someone in management. And if I were Terry Francona, the odds of me coming to Fenway Park to celebrate the team that stabbed me in the back and risking unknowingly shaking hands with the man responsible are somewhere between the odds of the Cleveland Browns winning the Super Bowl next year and the odds of Keith Olbermann co-hosting a talk show with Bill O’Reilly (NOTE: that is to say, “not good”). According to the Globe, Terry went on to elaborate:

“[Larry Lucchino] got a little perturbed at me, telling me I was being unfair to them. I called him back last night and left him a message. He called me back and we ended up getting into an argument. I just feel like someone in the organization went out of their way to hurt me and the more we talked I realized we’re just not on the same wavelength.”

Being unfair to them? Listen, we already knew that Red Sox management lives in a fantasy world, but what level of psychosis do you need to have reached to think that Tito didn’t get stabbed in the back? I’m not a Terry Francona apologist. I love Tito for bringing us two World Series crowns, and I always will, but he definitely had to go after the way he lost the clubhouse last season. But let’s call a spade a spade: someone in the Red Sox organization utterly screwed him (and may have even cost him the St. Louis job this offseason), and to expect him to forget about that and show up to Fenway with a smile is so far outside the realm of possibility that it would be like offering John Lackey a $82.5m contract after hearing him say he hates pitching at Fenway.

…you know what, on second thought, maybe this is just par for the course for Red Sox brass.